1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to portable and transportable media editing facilities and more particularly to a trailer specifically configured for editing and reviewing film or other visual media in close proximity to the location where such film is shot as well as facilitating any and all types of wired and wireless communications.
2. Description of the Related Art
Recently, the entertainment industry has seen increased growth and activity in conjunction with the development of modern electronic communications and electronic signal processing. It is increasingly becoming a feasible option to travel anywhere in the world in order to provide a proper setting for the action to take place in a movie. However, the facilities by which raw or unedited film or other recordings can be edited in the field have not kept up with the pace of the technology. Very often, the daily rushes or xe2x80x9cdailiesxe2x80x9d must be shipped to a special facility where they can be viewed and edited. This slows down the creative process, increases costs, and prevents the artists involved from taking advantage of spontaneous circumstances that could be turned advantageously to their favor. Such facilities may be far from the location shoot. Certain environmental or weather conditions that may occur on an unpredictable or intermittent basis might advantageously be incorporated into a movie or film if it were known just how the recording of the event should be properly presented to an audience for best impact or artistic expression.
With the rise of electronic signal processing technology, digital editing of film has become an increasingly attractive and available means by which film can be edited. The equipment used to perform such digital editing is expensive and delicate in that it should not be subject to extreme weather conditions, undue jarring or jostling, or the like. In fact, such electronic signal processing machinery might best respond to a highly controlled environment. Consequently, it becomes a high risk and possibly expensive endeavor to locate digital or other editing equipment out in the field where it might be subject to the extremes of weather that sometimes occur on location and/or traumas inflicted in transport. Repair and maintenance of such complex electronic and mechanical machinery is best done in specialized repair facilities and not out in the field. Consequently, it becomes more difficult to gauge and control the impact of recorded media when the editing facilities must be kept apart from the location where the film is shot. The prior art has generally not addressed this problem, although transport facilities, editing machinery, and communications equipment are known in the art.
It would be of some advantage to the entertainment industry to have available portable and extensive editing facilities so that the film or other media which is recorded may be quickly and easily edited in an environmentally secure facility that provides comfortable means by which expensive editing sessions can be pursued as well as secure means by which expensive and possibly delicate equipment can be safely transported over long distances and into rough country.
Additionally, facilitating communications, particularly wireless communications, in the field would also be a particular advantage to such a media trailer. The media trailer could then provide a central source for communications and editing so that filming and other media activities could be coordinated and facilitated. By providing a central communications facility coupled with a media editing facility, better filming may be achieved.
The present invention provides portable means by which full editing and screening facilities can be provided on-site or on location for movie, film, or other recorded audio-visual media. A large trailer, such as those used in tractor/trailer rigs, provides an outer shell to protect the expensive and sophisticated editing equipment inside. In order to expand the interior volume available for editing and maneuvering space, one or more slidable sections (or slideouts) are provided on the sides of the trailer. The slideouts provide means by which the trailer may conform to interstate or other highway standards for height, width, and length while providing a sufficient and possibly an ample volume of space within which several editing stations or similar types of facilities can be provided. Movement within the confines of the expanded trailer interior are facilitated as the quarters are less cramped, making it easier to endure and constructively participate in extended editing, screening, or similar sessions. For travel, the slideouts slide into the interior of the trailer in order to provide a minimal exterior displacement conforming with interstate highway regulations, and/or the like. Doors with stairs descending and making transition to the ground are provided on each side of the trailer. Satellite or other wireless transmission communications processing equipment can accompany the digital or other editing equipment held securely within the confines of the trailer. A generator or the like generating power at approximately 20-25 kilowatts with a 50-gallon fuel reservoir allows the on-site media and communications trailer of the present invention to attain some self-sufficiency. Alternative embodiments of the present invention include a container-like shell with removable wheels or the like, making the trailer more modular and transportable.
Powered by a diesel generator or the like, the present invention includes a projection room that allows screening of films and other audio-visual materials in a screening area adjacent editing areas. Storage space may be provided in the projection room and a small door may provide access between the projection room and the screening area. A partition may complete the separation of the projection room from the screening area with a clear optical plate providing optical access to the screening area from the projection room. A first, curbside slide-out area provides an editing workstation as well as a small commissary area with a refrigerator, microwave, and coffeepot. On the other side of the screening area, a door provides ingress and egress by means of a stair step with handrail. The images projected from the projection room are projected on a fold-up screen or the like and may be controlled from a console present in the screening area.
A second, streetside slideout extends from a forward portion of the screening area back towards the rear of the trailer. The streetside slideout is approximately one-third larger than the curbside slideout and has two editing consoles on either side of a central equipment area. Sliding out and away from. the main trailer section, the second streetside slideout provides space through which passage may be made from the screening area to the rear editing area. The rear editing area has the second editing console of the second streetside slideout as well as a KEM film editing table or station.
In one embodiment, there are three (3) editorial workstations built into the trailer slideouts accommodate non-linear editing equipment and/or KEM stations. These workstations can be adjusted horizontally and vertically to the editor""s needs.
The passageway between the screening area and rear editing area may also have a door to the outside which is accessed by stair steps with a handrail. An additional rear double door may provide a large opening through which the rear of the trailer may be accessed as by a ramp attached to the trailer frame.
The on-site media and communications trailer of the present invention may be permanently or removably attached to a trailer bed or chassis to effect rolling transport. Alternatively, the present invention may be configured to accommodate known and standardized cargo forms such as those used in ocean-going cargo vessels or railroad piggyback services. By providing a modular, portable, and expandable media trailer, editing and production services can be located adjacent or close to almost any movie shoot location. In one embodiment, the present invention may also be configured for helicopter transport.
Beyond the mere provision of editing and screening facilities, sophisticated and state-of-the-art electronic communications and electronic signal processing equipment may be incorporated or associated with the equipment area of the second streetside slideout portion. Included with such equipment may be digital editors such as those known in the art as made by AVID and LIGHTWORKS, as well as VCRs, signal processors, telephony, and satellite communications equipment. A satellite dish or other wireless transmitting and receiving antenna may be installed in a collapsible manner on the roof of the trailer. Under appropriate circumstances, broadband digital signal transmission capable of transmitting several minutes to several hours of digitized audio visual material may be transmitted from the on-site media and communications trailer of the present invention back to studios in southern California or elsewhere by satellite or otherwise.
Additionally, other wireless or other communication facilities can also be incorporated into the media trailer of the present invention. The media trailer may also act as a communications trailer in order to provide a central power supply and server or other basic infrastructure facility for a variety of communications protocols including infra-red, BLUETOOTH, wireless application protocols (WAPs), short messaging system (SMS), and GSM protocols, virtual private networks (VPNs), 802.11/Ethernet, and other communications protocols now known or developed in the future.
Providing such a hub for communications is particularly advantageous in areas where a communications infrastructure is not present. Although relevant technology is well developed and established in the North American continent, movie filming often requires filming in locations that are primitive to the point of being pristine. By facilitating communication amongst persons and the location shoot, less trauma may be afflicted on the shoot location, and such activities may take less time to accomplish and complete.
By providing the on-site media and communications trailer of the present invention, productions of recorded audio-visual works are less limited by the location of editing and screening facilities.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a media trailer which can be used on-site or on location.
It is an additional object of the present invention to provide such an on-site media and communications trailer that is transportable into areas where recorded audio-visual sequences are shot and recorded.
It is an additional object of the present invention to provide a secure and environmentally-controlled environment for the safe transport and use of sophisticated and complex electronic editing equipment.
It is an additional embodiment of the present invention to provide an on-site media and communications trailer that provides sufficient workspace in order to facilitate the editing, screening, and creative processes.
It is yet another object of the present invention to provide an on-site media and communications trailer that takes advantage of the current state-of-the-art electronics signal processing yet allows future modification as the art of such information transmission/reception progresses.
It is yet another object of the present invention to provide a self-contained on-site media and communications trailer that communicate by wireless transmission via satellite or otherwise.
It is yet another object of the present invention to provide a communications hub coupled with a media trailer for use on site or on location.
It is yet another object of the present invention to provide a communications hub for wireless communications and satellite transception for better coordination and easier accomplishment of activities associated with filming or the like.
It is yet another object of the present invention to provide an on-site media and communications trailer including a communications hub to provide communications infrastructure for individuals local to the trailer as well as to wide area or global communications networks.
These and other objects and advantages of the present invention will be apparent from a review of the following specification and accompanying drawings.